Aaron Judge Gives Ominous Response When Asked About Future With Yankees

Judge knows his value is through the roof after a historic season

Scott Neville | Oct 25, 2022

Aaron Judge Gives Ominous Response When Asked About Future With Yankees /

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Aaron Judge has done a fantastic job of showing loyalty to the New York Yankees while making clear that he's well aware of his worth, especially after completing one of the most productive seasons in Major League Baseball history.

The all-time great slugger perfectly depicted that dual reality in his last media scrum of the season. He was asked if his goal is to remain a Yankee as he hits free agency.

"I’ve been clear about that since I first wore the pinstripes," Judge told reporters, as shared by SNY on Twitter. "But we couldn’t get something done before spring training and now I'm a free agent and we’ll see what happens."

It's clear from both previous statements and some comments made in the same media scrum that Judge does want to remain in the Bronx. However, his comment on Tuesday, paired with a smirk, came off as, "you had your chance at exclusive negotiations, and now I'm going to get my worth this winter."

Judge did speak as if he were to remain a member of the Yankees moving forward when talking about how the team needs to get over the hump after multiple postseason failures, but he's not going to get lowballed.

The New York Post's Jon Heyman cited a potential four-team race for Judge, with the obvious possibility of other teams joining the bidding war.

Four Teams Reportedly Poised To Make Serious Run For Yankees' Aaron Judge

The right fielder was offered a seven-year deal worth $213.5 million back in spring training. That contract would have an annual average value (AAV) of $30.5 million.

Judge reportedly was seeking a deal in the range of an eight-year deal worth $288 million, meaning the two sides were one year and $74.5 million apart.

After a season in which Judge hit .311 (5th In MLB) with 90 extra-base hits (1st in MLB) including 62 home runs (1st in MLB), 131 RBIs (T-1st in MLB) and a 1.111 OPS (1st in MLB), he can increase his ask.

The 30-year-old also led the league in runs scored (133), walks (111), on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.686), OPS+ (211) and total bases (391).

In other words, he's going to get paid this offseason, and the Yankees will have to live up to their status of being big spenders to keep their homegrown hero in town.

Heyman reached out to some agents and executives to give their best estimates on how much Judge will fetch, and the four results he posted averaged out to a total contract of $322 million with an undisclosed number of years.

More MLB: Yankees' Aaron Judge Hints At Which Team He Will Play For Next Season

Published Oct 25, 2022

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu